


Battle of The Bands

by cmtretyak



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), Shadowhunters (TV) RPF
Genre: AU, Battle of the Bands, F/F, M/M, Malec, Multi, Music, Shadowhunters - Freeform, Show!Malec, Slow Burn, battle of the bands au, mundane AU, they're all mundanes in this bc i want a musical episode but im also lazy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-30 00:11:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10865010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cmtretyak/pseuds/cmtretyak
Summary: Five Rounds! Ten bands! Who will emerge victorious!?





	1. The Sign Up Sheet and The Stranger

Alexander Lightwood followed his siblings Jace and Isabelle into Mr. Reed’s - the local musical supply shop and lesson hub. The shop was cozy and welcoming, and the familiar scent of paper and overpriced music books filled his lungs. They just needed a few things, but the contents of Mr. Reed’s had a way of distracting all three of them. Alec walked up to the counter and found that Jace had already wandered off to flip through the latest issue of some magazine, and Isabelle was watching an in process piano lesson with an encouraging smile on her face. Alec sighed and turned to face the clerk at the counter, “Hey Meliorn”  
Meliorn smiled back at the sight of a familiar face, “Hello, Alec.” He said in his equally mysterious and welcoming tone, “What will it be today?”  
“Nothing much. Just a couple basics. Guitar strings, a couple pics, and a new aux cord.” He said, recalling the hot sauce disaster his darling brother caused that messed up their last one.  
“Not a problem,” he said as he turned away to retrieve the aux cord from the secured area behind the counter. Alec picked up a pack of pics- say that five times fast- and set them on the counter as Isabelle wandered back over with a package of guitar strings. She smiled at her brother as he asked, “Made a new friend?”  
“Yes. That’s Madize. Isn’t she good?”  
As Meliorn approached the counter again, they all paused to listen to the little girl play. Her fingers graced over the piano keys smoothly, like water dripping off of a leaf. Her little face was contorted in concentration as she filled the shop with simple but beautiful sounds. After a moment, she stopped and looked to her teacher for approval, who gave her a warm smile as Izzy applauded for her. Izzy nudged Alec and he clapped too with a small half smile on his face. Jace wandered back over to them and joined as Madzie took a little bow and scampered off with her teacher.  
“Reminds you of when we were kids, huh?” Jace asked  
Izzy laughed, “Yeah, it does. She’ll really go places that one”  
Meliorn looked amused for a moment before he suddenly remembered something and caught the attention of the siblings, “oh!” he said, “Don’t you three have a band?” He asked as he pulled out a clip board and a pen from under the counter.  
“Yes!”  
“Yeah!”  
“Sort of.”  
Came the chorus of answers from the Lightwoods. Jace nudged Alec for his pessimism before he looked at Meliorn, “Yeah, we’re pretty rad and we do have a band.”  
“It’s called Salt, Sugar & Spice” Izzy supplied, “Jace is the spice because he’s an animal and eats hotsauce on hot dogs-“  
“-a perfectly acceptable meal!” Jace interjected defensively  
“I’m the sugar because what else would I be, and the optimist here is the salt” she said with a grin. She lightly patted Alec’s arm as he rolled his eyes playfully.  
“Well I was wondering if you three might be up for a competition,” Meliorn said as he placed the clipboard on the counter. It had a sheet of paper on it labeled “Battle of the Bands” and several lines for entry already filled in. “It’s a battle of the bands for charity. Elaine Lewis’ firm is sponsoring it. The winner gets to donate $15,000 to a charity of their choice and they get a bit of notoriety too. I heard that some big shot from Down World Records is going to be there one of the nights. You guys should totally complete.” He said as he pushed the signup sheet towards them.  
Jace grinned, “Hell yes we will! Right guys? That sounds awesome!” Izzy grinned and reached for the pen but Alec grabbed the pen before she could, “Hang on.” He said as he looked at Meliorn, “Who says we’d want to get big anyways?” Izzy took the pen back, “No one. But it’s for a cause that we’d care about, right? So who cares if some big shot notices us, it’s not about that.”  
“Think about it man, it’d be so much fun to blow some people’s minds” Jace added.  
“C’mon you guys we could fundraise on our own if we really wanted too.” Alec looked down at the list, “I mean what kind of jokers are these anyways? Did you look at these names? What the hell kind of band name is ‘Sex Wombat’?” he asked as Meliorn snickered at their bickering.  
“One that’s different and kind of funny, but the names aren’t what matters” Izzy said.  
“Yeah, and besides, that name is cool as hell. Why didn’t we think of that?” Jace asked.  
Alec opened his mouth to respond but was cut short when the bell on the door rang. He glanced over and suddenly seemed to have forgotten what he had to say. The man who entered took his breath away.  
He was dressed in tight black pants, a black dress shirt, and a deep red, fitted vest. His hair was stylishly spiked, his nails painted, his eyes carefully lined with eyeliner, rings clad on his fingers, and a few necklaces danced on his broad chest. Everything seemed to quiet down as he entered, and Alec felt like time itself slowed to let him admire this man. He was tall, broad, and muscular. Those biceps, fucking hell those biceps should be illegal. He had a smooth elegant walk as he made his way over to the counter and smiled. Alec felt his heart in his throat. Oh no. oh god no his smile is radiant what the hell.  
Meliorn vaguely broke Alec from his trance, “Magnus Bane! Good to see you! Come to sign up?” he asked.  
“Yes indeed. I got your text and this sounds like my kind of gig. Have you got something for me to sign or something…?” he asked. As he spoke, Alec found himself staring at his lips. They were elegant and poised in the way the moved, so purposeful and warm-looking. It was deafening. So deafening that Alec didn’t hear a word that this man or Meliorn had said. He wasn’t even aware of Jace snickering at him or at Izzy trying to subtly get his attention.  
“I don’t have it, he does” Meliorn said as he gestured to Alec.  
Magnus looked to the siblings and smiled, “Oh, are you three competing as well?” he asked, looking the three of them over and letting his deep brown eyes rest on Alec. He was fully aware that Alec was staring at him and didn’t hesitate to check out the open mouthed man in return with an enchanted little smirk playing on his lips.  
“Yes!” Izzy said, saving her brother’s gay ass, “We were just about to sign up, weren’t we?” she asked, looking pointedly at Alec as Jace nodded along.  
Alec was still watching Magnus, their eyes interlocked and he blinked several times and managed a very eloquent, “uhhh” as Jace hid a laugh behind his hand. Izzy reached up and took the pen from Alec and quickly scribbled their information onto the sheet, “Does this mean we’ll see you there...? Magnus Bane, right?” she asked as she handed Magnus the clipboard.  
Magnus glanced at her and gave her a smile, “Of course!” he penned his band name and phone number on the sheet, and looked at Alec as he set it on the counter, “I love a challenge” he said, meeting Alec’s hazel eyes with a mischievous glimmer in his, “Might I ask your names? Keep your friends close and enemies closer, right?” he joked as he gave a wink to Alec that nearly ended Alec’s gay life then and there.  
“I’m Isabelle Lightwood, pleasure to meet you Magnus.” She smiled, “these are my brothers” she said, gesturing to the two boys.  
Jace reached up with one finger and closed Alec’s open mouth for him, “Jace” he said with a grin.  
Alec blushed and pushed Jace’s hand away, but he couldn’t help but smile, “Alec” he said, doing his best to play it cool.  
A slow smile curled on Magnus’ lips, “I’m glad we met today. You’ve unlocked something in me.” Magnus said, as his eyes gleamed with curiosity and a kind of affection. Alec and Magnus stood like that a moment, eyes interlocked, drinking in one another, until Meliorn lightly cleared his throat. Magnus glanced around at the others and then his eyes rested on Alec again, “Well. I’ll see you this weekend, Alexander.” He said with a playful smile. Alec nodded slowly, “yeah. You will.”  
And with that, Magnus Bane was gone, and the Lightwoods were competing in a battle of the bands.


	2. We're Going to Have to Sing You a Love Song Because You Asked For it, Cause You Need One, You See.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lightwood siblings get and e-mail about the Battle of the Bands from one of the judges, Clary Fray, who explains to them and their competitors the rules and the theme for the first round. They debate on what song to perform, and finally settle on one. And of course, Izzy and Jace tease Alec about Magnus juuuuust a little bit.

Alec was stretched out on the couch, his nose buried deep in his well-worn copy of Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, his long legs crossed over one another as Jace sat on the couch opposite of him, scrolling through Instagram and eating one of his trademarked “burn dogs”. For the normal people reading, that’s a hot dog covered in hot sauce. They were fairly quiet and simply enjoying one another’s company when Isabelle burst into the room with a huge grin on her face, laptop in hand, and scared the shit out of both of them. Alec jumped and dropped his book, and Jace poked himself in the face with his burn dog.   
“Where’s the fire, Izzy?” Jace asked, wiping hot sauce off of his face with the back of his hand as Alec sighed and picked up his book.   
“I just got an e-mail from one the judges for the battle of the bands! Her name is Clary and this has all the rules and the theme for the first round” she said as she lightly pushed Alec’s legs off the couch. He rolled his eyes playfully as she sat down, and Jace came over and sat on Izzy’s other side. She tilted the screen back slightly so they could read the following e-mail: 

 

Dear competitors,   
Thanks for joining us! This is a pet project of ours, and we’re really excited to try it out with you all! After you read the rules, please respond to this e-mail with what charity you’d like to be representing. Please remember that this is a fun, friendly competition for a good cause of your choice. But… a little drama never hurt anyone, right? ;)   
RULES:   
1\. There will be a total of 5 rounds and 2 bands will be eliminated each week. Whoever gets the loudest cheers from the crowd is safe. Should there be a tie to save a band that’s up for elimination, the judges, (myself, Simon Lewis, and Maureen Brown) will make the final call.  
2\. A little competition and drama is fine, but absolutely NO sabotage will be tolerated.   
3\. The song you choose to perform MUST fit the theme of the round.   
4\. You must attend at least ONE rehearsal before each battle. It will only be 30 minutes per band, but that should be ample time. (Judges will not be present for this, and neither will the other bands).   
5\. Competing bands are chosen at random, so you won’t have to battle the same band twice.   
6\. Songs must be pre-approved by judges via email.   
7\. HAVE FUN!!!! :D   
This round’s theme is: SONGS ABOUT LOVE (or sex). Please respond to this e-mail with the song you will be performing and the original artist that it’s by so we can make sure there are no repeats in performances. Rehearsal times and locations are attached to this e-mail, if you have a scheduling conflict, please let us know and we will work with you.   
See you all this Saturday!   
Clary, Maureen, and Simon. 

 

Izzy watched the boys with a grin and waiting till they finished reading. Jace grinned, “So… we’re really in this, huh?” he asked, more excited than he cared to admit as Izzy nodded excitedly.   
“What charity should we support?” Alec asked as Jace shrugged and Izzy smiled.   
“I’ve been doing some research on that actually.” She said as she pulled a neat list from her pocket, “I know you were hesitant and a little cynical about this Alec, but I think these are organizations we could all get behind.”   
She handed Alec the list and he took it from her and read it out loud, “Planned Parenthood, The ACLU, The Human Rights Campaign, The Trevor Project, The True Colors Fund, and the Jim Collins Foundation.” He read. He looked at Izzy and Jace, already knowing which ones he’d want to support, “What do you guys think?” he asked.  
Jace shrugged, “Iz said that some of the other bands had already covered Planned Parenthood and The ACLU. The others are all good causes too, so I’m down with whatever. Can’t really go wrong, know what I mean?” he asked, making eye contact with Alec.   
Alec nodded and looked over the list carefully again and Izzy smiled, “I think…” he hesitated a moment, recalling some of his own feelings he’d shared with his siblings over the years, and knowing they were suckering him into being on board with this by appealing to his little gay heart, “I think… we should support The Trevor Project.”   
Izzy was already typing her response to the e-mail, “Okay, one thing down! One to go…” she trailed off as she quickly googled the name ‘Clary Fray’ and smiled softly as she came across the other girl’s Instagram account, “…she’s really pretty, isn’t she?” she murmured softly. Jace snickered and Alec poked Izzy’s shoulder, “Focus, Iz.”   
She grinned, “Fine, fine, I’ll just have to impress her on stage… and maybe off stage too.” She said as Jace laughed again.  
Alec rolled his eyes and smiled, “Anyways…. Love songs is a pretty broad category. What should we pick?” He asked.   
Jace rubbed his chin pensively, “Hmmmm… well, we can assume that the genre doesn’t matter, because they didn’t specify genre in the e-mail, right?” he asked as the other two nodded, “So if we don’t have to stick to a certain genre… we should play to our strengths.”   
“Motown and disco?” Izzy asked with a grin. Jace nodded and Alec couldn’t help but smile.   
He was a cynical, sometimes bitter gay. He’d be the first person to admit that. Hell, he was the Salt in their band. Literally. But he always loved Motown and Disco-esc music. There was something about music that was so unapologetically happy that made him want to move, play, and dance along. It was pure joy. The three of them often bonded over their parent’s old records when they were younger, and shared a love of Earth, Wind, & Fire- which was the inspiration for their own band name.   
“Let’s do it” Alec said, excitement in his voice, “We should do something totally classic that everyone is bound to know and get excited about.”   
“Oh! Let’s go girl power!” Izzy said, “I love some of the guy groups of the time, but if we’re playing to our strengths, I’m more comfortable in the vocal ranges of other women. It’s just easier to really nail the notes,” She admitted.   
“Sounds like that’s not the only thing about women you’d like to nail” Jace said as he wriggled his eyebrows suggestively and Alec laughed. Jace did his best (worst) impersonation of Isabelle and spoke in a high pitched voice, “Oh Clary Fray! She’s so pretty! I bet I can impress that judge in my obnoxiously big high heals and my sassy attitude! I looooOOoOooove red heads!” Jace teased.   
Alec laughed and rolled his eyes as Izzy lightly punched Jace in the arm, “Shut up, dork!” she grinned as Jace laughed. She looked at Alec with a slightly embarrassed but mischievous glint in her eyes, “You don’t have any room to laugh about wanting to impress pretty strangers, Alec.” She said smugly.  
Jace grinned and lowered his voice to comical levels, his impersonation of Alec not much better than his impersonation of Izzy, “Oh Magnus Bane, you’re so beautiful. I’ve only seen you for like two minutes and I’m in love with you and your big biceps! I just-“  
Alec blushed, “Shut up, Jace” he interjected, a little flustered as he remembered those big biceps and Izzy laughed.  
“-can’t wait to get my hands on yo- I mean on this great competition. For honor! For glory! For our land! For our voices! For the sake of all things gay!-“  
“What the hell, why am I a gay brave heart now? Jace your impersonations are shit-“  
“-and for the sake of my cold little heart, I sure hope I’ve unlocked something in you. Maybe a date or-“ Jace continued teasingly as Isabelle laughed. Alec was a light shade of pink and reached across Izzy to punch Jace, but Jace dodged him and kept going, “I can only hope that someday we’ll be together foreeeevveerrrr!” Alec reached across Izzy again and landed a punch on Jace’s shoulder, “Shut it” he grumbled as the other two laughed.   
Izzy stopped laughing suddenly and looked inspired, “That’s it!” she said as she started typing rapidly to continue her e-mail.  
“What’s it?” Jace asked in his normal voice, still grinning, “We try and set up Alec on a blind date with that Magnus guy?” he asked as Alec gave him a look, still blushing slightly.   
“No. Not yet anyway,” Isabelle said as Alec pretended to be annoyed and rolled his eyes like he wouldn’t love some alone time with ‘that Magnus guy’. “The song we should do! ‘Someday we’ll be together’ by The Supremes!”   
Jace smiled and nodded and Alec thought it over for a moment. It did check off the boxes they were going for. And most people would know it… if the sped the tempo up a little bit, they could really get the crowd riled up and excited. He nodded, “Let’s do it” he said as Izzy grinned and finished up the e-mail.   
She tilted the screen again so they could read it, “How’s this sound, guys?” she asked. The boys leaned in and read the following e-mail: 

 

Dear Clary,   
Thank you for getting to us in such a timely manner! You must be super organized! Salt, Sugar, & Spice will be performing “Someday We’ll Be Together” by The Supremes. We would also like to support The Trevor Project. The schedule for rehearsal times looks great, and we’ll be there! It’s a shame we can’t meet you there, but I’m sure we’ll rock your socks off during the show ;).   
Yours Truly,   
Izzy, Jace, and Alec Lightwood.   
P.S. E-mail so out dated, girl! Here’s my number, feel free to text me anytime: (555) 555-5555

 

Alec looked amused and Jace raised an eyebrow with a grin, “Subtle, Iz. You might as well stamp on your forehead ‘Hi, I’m a huge lesbian’ you dweeb.” He said as Alec chuckled quietly.   
Izzy just grinned, “That’s the plan!” She said as she sent it.   
Jace laughed and Alec rolled his eyes at his sister’s antics. Maybe he would ask for her help… she’s certainly a better flirt than he is. He shook thoughts of Magnus out of his head, “We should go practice before the rehersal. Just in case Izzy’s new girlfriend is there” Alec said as Jace laughed again.   
Izzy shut her laptop and stood up, “Sounds like a plan to me! C’mon losers, to the garage!” she said as she left. Jace gave Alec a pat on the shoulder before he followed their sister, “Who the hell are you calling a loser, loser?” he asked as he left.   
Alec sighed, picked up his book and carefully put it on the table. He took a deep breath, suddenly feeling nervous at the thought of seeing Magnus again. He wanted to impress him… but the judges too. The Trevor Project is a really important charity. He sighed again. I can do both. Better get to work. He left the room to follow his brother and sister, and hoped that time was more merciful to him than it was to Dr. Faustus.


	3. Lookin' For Some Hot Stuff, Baby This Rehearsal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Practice makes perfect! This applies to anything and everything, music, dance, pyrotechnics, showmanship, and flirting with pretty boys as Alec will quickly discover.

Alec wiped sweat from his brow as he put his bass guitar into its case and let out a satisfied sigh. They had just finished their rehearsal, and damn if that shit wasn’t lit. Jace had wandered off, but Alec knew he wasn’t far as he could still hear him tapping his drumsticks on things as he walked. He glanced around, and saw Izzy chatting with the stage manager, Gretel about any notes she had and how things went over all. He slung his bass case over his shoulder and spotted the water cooler that was backstage left. He’d let the other two explore and work with the techies, he just really wanted a drink right now.   
Alec wandered over to the cooler and poured himself some water into a paper cup. He slammed it down and quickly poured another. He started to drink that one too. He heard footsteps approaching as he did, but he ignored them.   
“Thirsty, aren’t you?” came the teasing voice of none other than Magnus Bane. Alec nearly choked, but managed to swallow. Ha. Jokes. Funny. He lowered his cup and looked at Magnus, trying to keep his cool. He looked… stunning, simply put.   
Magnus had on a pair of rather tight jeans, and a partially unbuttoned purple dress shirt that majestically hugged his muscular frame. He had on shimmery silver eyeliner, a few necklaces, and of course there were rings on his fingers. Alec met Magnus’ eyes and he gave a small smile. When he first saw Magnus, he had noted what a deep brown his eyes were, but with the shimmery eyeliner, they appeared to be a lighter shade of brown. They were a spectrum that ranged from black as night to the color of leaves in the fall.   
“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Alec said as he casually leaned against the water cooler and sipped his drink casually again, “I’m really passionate about staying hydrated.” Instantly he was mentally kicking himself. Who the hell says stuff like that when they’re flirting, you dipstick?! He demanded of his own brain.   
But Magnus smiled, “So I see. It’s certainly an interesting passion. I’d say I’m pretty passionate myself, and that passion is an admirable trait,” he said, his eyes glimmering slightly as he flirtatiously teased Alec, “In fact, Alexander I think you could say my entire body is very passion about staying hydrated. It really helps with that whole… “Staying alive” thing” he teased.   
Alec took a breath, “Yeah it certainly does that…” He said, suddenly very conscious of Magnus’ eyes as he looked him over. Alec fixed the collar on his shirt as subtly as he could, “So… what brings you here?” Idiot. He’s in the contest. What brings you here? Jesus.   
“My band and I go on to practice in just a few minutes. I decided to stop by early. Because… well I was hoping to see you. We didn’t get much of a chance to talk when we first met.”   
Alec swallowed and leaned slightly more on the water cooler to look casual, “No we did not. Uh, I think all I said was ‘uh’ and ‘Alec’. But uh…..” he suddenly blanked on what to say, but saved himself surprisingly fast, “What’s your band called?” he asked  
A half smile curled on Magnus’ lips, “Magnus and the Man Eaters” he said, pointedly looking over Alec as he said the words ‘man eaters’. “What about your band?” He asked, a genuine curiosity in his voice.   
“Salt, Sugar, and Spice” Alec responded immediately, “Its uh… me, my sister, and my brother. It’s a stupid name but I mean… we were kids and our parents thought it was cute and it just stuck. Like names do.”   
Magnus smiled a smile that reached his eyes, “I think that’s adorable, actually. Are you the sugar?” he asked, teasing Alec again.   
“No… I’m the Salt. Are you the Man Eater or the Magnus?” he asked, feeling stupid again as he leaned his bass against the wall as an excuse to hide his blush.  
But Magnus didn’t think so, in fact, he really seemed to be enjoying flirting back and forth. Magnus subtly stepped a little closer, “I can be both, depending on the situation” he said with a wink and Alec swore he felt his heart stop.   
“Interesting” he said, an octave higher than he intended it to be. Magnus chuckled and Alec cleared his throat to speak normally, “So… what do you play? I play the bass and sing back up for Izzy.”   
“Keyboard. And vocals.” Magnus responded. Magnus watched Alec for a moment and Alec watched him right back. Yes, Alec was flustered, but he wasn’t about to be out done and he was determined to make a better impression now that he could stop his jaw from hanging open. “Alexander, would you like to practice together sometime? Nothing related to all this, just… play for fun. Free verse, you know. Maybe get a drink afterwards.”   
Normally, Alec hated being called Alexander, but when Magnus said it… it had such a powerful, majestic ring to it. It made him feel powerful. He smiled, “Yeah… Uh, yeah I would really like that.”   
Magnus smiled and seemed almost giddy, “Great! That sounds great. Ah… here” he reached in his pocket and pulled out a business card and picked up a stray pen off of the table. He wrote something on the back of it and handed to Alec a card that read, ‘Magnus Bane, piano tutor and vocal coach.’ He smiled, “I wrote my personal phone number on the back. You can reach me anytime your heart so desires.”   
Alec took it and as he did, their fingertips brushed. He felt a spark. A tingle that went up his arm and down his spine. He felt a chill journey through his body and he smiled as he looked over the card. He stuck it in his pocket, “I’ll totally do that for you, babe” he said, still trying to play it cool as blushed. Oh god, don’t screw this up.   
There was a very light flush that played on Magnus’ brown skin as he smiled, “I hope you will, Alexander.” He said, somehow managing to make Alec’s name sound more flirtatious than being called babe, “Now, if you’ll excuse me… we need to practice. See you Saturday?” he asked with a hopeful tone.   
“See you Saturday” Alec said as he casually ruffled his hair. Guys totally dig the ‘messy hipster’ look, right? Did he hear Izzy say that to him once? He couldn’t remember.   
“Call me,” Magnus said with a final wink as he walked away.   
Alec may or may not have checked out his ass he walked away. Alright, that was a lie, he looked. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as he continued to lean on the water cooler. Nice. It was a little awkward, but… Magnus might just think it was cute. He couldn’t help but smile to himself as he sipped his water. Nice.   
Now, Alec Lightwood is a tall guy. A whopping 6’3”. He only had a few inches on Magnus Bane, prince of muscles, but a man well over 6 feet tall and at least 200 pounds shouldn’t lean on a water cooler that was already precariously balanced on a cheap plastic table. Alec realized this a little too late as the leg of the table cracked. The table fell forward, the water cooler fell off with a clang and spilled and Alec was on his ass, soaking wet and not entirely sure what happened.   
The clatter caused every head on stage to whip around to see what the hell just happened. Jace, as it turned out had made his way back and had totally lost his shit laughing at Alec’s little accident. Gretel’s jaw dropped at his clumsiness, and Izzy tired and failed to hide a smile behind her hand. The stage hands looked defeated, like they knew they’d have to clean this crap up but otherwise made no move towards him.   
Izzy quickly made her way over to him, amused but concerned as Jace continued to laugh, “Alec what happened? Are you okay?” She asked, reaching out to help him up.   
He took her hand and avoided eye contact, “uh… Yeah I’m fine” he mumbled, “I’ll uh, clean this up, I swear” he said in the general direction of some of the stage hands. He went to look back at Izzy to answer her question and shut his mouth immediately as he saw Magnus walking back over looking concerned, with a few other people behind him. “Oh fuck he saw that.” Alec said, not realizing he said it out loud.   
Magnus and his crew made their way over, “Alexander, are you okay?” he asked, “You… seem a bit wet.” His concern was genuine, but he couldn’t help but be a little amused too. Alec was cute, what defense could he give?   
“Uhhhh” Alec managed eloquently as his brother’s laughter echoed. He looked around for some kind of answer and looked over who he could only assume was Magnus’ bandmates. A tall African American man, who he swore he heard Gretel mention… Luke was it? There was an African American woman and another man whose name he didn’t know. He swallowed, “Uh, I’m just gonna clean this up.” He said.   
Izzy picked up what was left of the table and the empty water cooler, “I’ll take this out and make peace with Gretel. Just try to get the water up before it damages anything.” She said as she left, mercifully saving her teasing for later.   
In the background, Alec could hear Jace slowly gaining control of his laughter and he smiled at Magnus awkwardly. A stage hand walked over with some towels, but Alec took them from her, “Uh, I got this. It was my fault, I’ll clean it. Uh… sorry” he said as she shrugged and walked away.   
Magnus smiled, “I’ll help if you’d like”   
“No, you don’t have to do that”  
“I insist”   
“I can get it, Magnus. I was being an idiot”   
“You aren’t an idiot, Alexander. Accidents happen.”   
“I mean I guess, but-“   
“But nothing.” Magnus said firmly as he took a towel from Alec. The woman standing with Magnus’ crew grinned and cleared her throat. Magnus turned, “My apologies, I’m being very rude. These are my band mates. Luke, Maia, and Raphael” Magnus said, gesturing to each of them as he said their names, “And this is-“  
“Alec. Don’t worry, we heard about you. All day yesterday.” Maia spoke up, deeply amused as Raphael snickered.  
“Oh… uh…” Alec started  
“Don’t worry, he thinks you’re cute” Raphael interrupted as Magnus gave him a ‘quit cramping my style’ look.   
Luke smiled, “Well we’ve met everyone, so shoo. C’mon, we have things to do. Pleasure.” He said to Alec, mercifully ushering the other two away despite their protests.   
Magnus gave an amused ‘tut’ at their antics, “They’re dear friends of mine, as you can tell” he said, amused.   
Alec smiled slightly as they both dropped to their knees and soaked up the water with the towels. Alec cleared his throat awkwardly, “So… you saw that huh?”   
“I did” Magnus said, as he sopped up water, “I’ll admit it was a bit funny, but again, accidents happen. They’re nothing to be ashamed of.”   
“…thanks”   
“No problem”   
“I… hope you didn’t change your mind after this… did you?” Alec asked. He reached with a dry towel to soak up the last of the water and their hands touched. Alec tensed slightly, unsure if he should pull away or not, but Magnus didn’t move. He smiled, “Of course not.”   
After a moment of intense eye contact, Alec broke it and picked up the towels. He stood, and Magnus followed suit. “Uh… guess I better take care of these and go so you guys can practice. See you around?”   
Magnus smiled, “See you around, Alexander.”   
Alec stood there for a second before quickly grabbing his bass and bringing the towels and his apologies to the stage hand that brought them to him to start with. He knew he’d have to deal with the teasing of Izzy and Jace later, but he didn’t care. He had the promise of a date to look forward to.


End file.
